Population

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EPIDEMIOLOGY: DEFINE YOUR POPULATION AND SELECTED PROBLEM

Overview: This week, you will further refine your population and problem and compare your suspicions about this problem to local, state, and national data on the topic. Your practicum project should come into clear focus as you continue to analyze related health data, and you should consider how you, as the nurse, might help them avoid development of the problem in the first place (primary prevention measures).

Practicum Discussion: This week your assignment is to collect and then refine health data about the issue that affects your population group. You will use scholarly professional literature to support your ideas about the population at risk. If data is not available for your population on a local level, then use county or state data. Some examples of health data that you might consider gathering are epidemiologic information related to health conditions, reproductive outcomes, causes of death, vital statistics, socioeconomic data including poverty and/or educational levels, quality of life issues, and/or lack of access to health care due to lack of health insurance or access to providers. You will want to compare local data with state and national trends to fully understand the extent of the selected problem in your community.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

  • McKenna, M. (2015). What do we do when antibiotics don’t work anymore? Links to an external site.[Video]. TED conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/maryn_mckenna_what_do_we_do_when_antibiotics_don_t_work_any_more
    Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 17 minutes.

    Maryn McKenna is a journalist who specializes in public health, global health, and food policy. She describes how bacteria and viruses are mutating in response to new antibiotics at an alarming rate.

 

  • TEDx Talks. (2014, October 20).Will the poor always be with us? Links to an external site. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHQes6P5XnQ
    Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.

    Jim Yong Kim talks about his vision of transformation for development, drawing on his personal experience as an activist and AIDs researcher. He shares why ending poverty is possible in our lifetimes and concludes that the poor will not always be with us.

  • Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community(10th ed.). Elsevier.
    • Chapter 6, “Environmental Health” (pp. 121-148)
    • Chapter 13, “Epidemiology” (pp. 269-298)
    • Chapter 14, “Infectious Disease Prevention and Control” (pp. 299-332)
    • Chapter 15, “Communicable and Infectious Disease Risks” (pp. 333-355)
    • Chapter 17, “Community as Client: Assessment and Analysis” (pp. 370-394)

 

 

 

 

Post your response to the following:

  • Describe the specific health problem and population you have selected.
  • What data did you find to support your decision? Refine and clarify the problem and population.
  • What useful health data and public health websites did you locate to support your position?
  • What other evidence did you find? You can include scholarly articles in this discussion.

Support your response with references from professional nursing literature.

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question. As a community of practice, help each other refine and clarify the health problem remembering that this project focuses on primary prevention strategies at the community and system level of care.

Respond to at least two colleagues. Your responses should be substantial and should contribute ideas, tools, alternate points of view, resources, and information related to identified health problems.

For all posts, be sure to use evidence Links to an external site. from the readings and include in-text citations Links to an external site.. Avoid quotes; paraphrase Links to an external site. to incorporate evidence into your own writing. A reference list Links to an external site. is required. Use the most current evidence Links to an external site. (usually ≤ 5 years old).